Its A Wonderful Life Tenchi Special
by Washu-chan1
Summary: Tenchi wishes he could live without the girls. What will he see when an angel comes down to show him that life? I know its a Christmas fic, but PLEASE READ ANYWAY! I GUARANTEE YOU'LL ENJOY IT!


Its a Wonderful Life Tenchi Special   
A Christmas Tenchi fic! 

Author's Note -- Well, its finally done. After lots of anticipation and work, I finally have it done! If anyone has ever seen the movie "Its A Wonderful Life", then they really don't need this explained to them. BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE, READ ON! The movie is about a guy who wishes he was never born. So an angel comes and shows him what everyone's life would be like without him. This is the plot that this story is centered around! Also...an IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!!!! CHAPTERS 2 AND ON ARE MEANT TO BE SLIGHTLY OUT OF CHARACTER! 

Oh yeah.....I don't own Tenchi Muyo....   


Or "Its a Wonderful Life"....   


MERRY CHRISTMAS!   


AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!   


on with the show..... 

Prologue: Be Careful what you Wish for!   
  


"Tenchi is mine!" Ryoko shouted, tugging with all her might on Tenchi's left arm.   
"Oh no you demon! Tenchi loves me more!" Aeka screamed back, pulling and twisting Tenchi's arm with all of her own strength.   
"Girls stop!" Tenchi yelled frantically. "You're going to pull my arms out of the socket!"   
Neither Aeka nor Ryoko seemed to hear him.   
"Let go of him Princess!"   
"No you...you ugly demon! The only reason Tenchi *ever* talks to you is because he feels sorry for such a monstrosity!"   
Ryoko dropped Tenchi's arm suddenly, causing it to fall limply against his side. "I've had about enough of you!"   
Ryoko pushed Aeka, who was still latched on to Tenchi, with no sign of letting go. Both Aeka and Tenchi flew into the nearest wall. Aeka dropped Tenchi's arm.   
Tenchi's legs slid on the floor until he was in a sitting position. He scooted back into a corner and decided to stay there, nursing his arms.   
Aeka stood up, rather shakily, and rubbed the back of her head, which had hit the pretty hard. Ryoko did not exactly give them a gentle push. She glared at Ryoko with fire in her eyes.   
"What's wrong Princess? Are you scaaared?" Ryoko taunted.   
"Why would *I* be scared of you?"   
"Because you're a puny little princess who can't defend herself without the weak help of two overgrown pieces of wood!"   
"You'll see just what those 'overgrown piece of wood' can do!"   
"Bring it!"   
"Glad to! Azaka! Kamidake'!"   
The two guardian logs appeared out of thin air, one on each side of Aeka.   
"Yes Miss Aeka?" the asked in a tone of unison.   
"Destroy that demon woman!"   
"As you wish Miss Aeka!"   
Ryoko held up her hands as the two log guardians rushed her way. She sent a large energy blast hurling through the air, straight into Kamidake', who was sent sprawling to the ground.   
But Azaka was unharmed.   
Ryoko sent yet another energy blast just as Azaka sent one of his own. Tenchi cowered in the corner.   
BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!! CRASH!!!! Energy hit energy and the explosion was dynamic. The room instantly became stifling hot.   
Tenchi covered his head with his arms. The explosion had caused the ceiling to dislodge, and pieces of it were falling all around.   
When he thought it was safe, Tenchi lifted his head from hims knees. The sight around him made him gasp.   
The once white walls were scorched. They had turned a deathly shade of black. Pieces of the burnt ceiling were scattered here and there on the floor. The television set had been busted through and the couch and chairs were all beyond normal repair.   
Azaka and Kamidake' were nowhere to be found. They had probably disappeared milliseconds before the two attacks collided. Aeka was propped up against the over-turned couch. She had a bruise forming on her shoulder. Tenchi supposed it was from slamming into the wall. Ryoko had been throw against a set of shelves, which had fallen under her impact, and she was now slumped on top of them. A burn mark crossed her right cheek. The smoke was making Tenchi's head reel.   
Then Tenchi noticed the picture...the only picture he had ever seen of he and his mother together. It was his most valued posession, and there it was, lying in the dead center of the room. The frame was broken in several places and the glass protecting the picture had melted. The tender paper inside was made vulnerable for only a few seconds, but that was all it took. The picture was no longer definite, everything was just a bunch of blurred shapes and colors.   
Tenchi knew that Little Washu could fix it. She had done so many times before, but now it was the last straw. If Aeka and Ryoko loved him so much, then why did they find it appropriate to nearly destroy everything that he held dear to his heart? Tenchi became more angry than he had ever been.   
Pushing his newfound anger aside for a moment, Tenchi knew he needed to go down and get Washu. She would have to fix up the mess Aeka and Ryoko had made. She would probably also have to do something about their burns and cuts.   
He walked down the hallway and through the broomcloset where Washu was sure to be...her lab. Tenchi moved slowly, he was still slightly dizzy from the smoke inhalation.   
"Washu?" he called. "Washu, where are you?"   
"There is no one here by that name!" Returned the all too familiar voice.   
Tenchi rolled his eyes. He knew this game. "Okay.....*Little* Washu, where are you?"   
"I'm over here Tenchi!" The genius called, with a trail of laughter in her voice.   
Tenchi walked around the corner and was just able to see the outline of a twelve year old body when he was thrust high into the air by something metal.   
"Not again!" Tenchi whined. "This is just not my day!"   
Washu stepped out of the shadows wearing her nurses uniform. Her long, pink hair was barely a millimeter above the floor.   
"Hi Tenchi!" Washu sang out. "I need your help with a teensy weensy experiment." She was barely able to control her evil laughter.   
Washu picked up an oddly shaped machine and pointed at Tenchi. And before he could say anything, she pressed a large red button that read "start". This was easily connected with the word "danger" in Tenchi's mind.   
A jolt of electricity shot through Tenchi's body. The impact of the machine knocked Washu back a couple of inches. The light was extremely intense! Tenchi squeezed his eyes shut to block out the blinding bright light. After awhile, he opened one eye curiously to see what had happened.   
Tenchi's surroundings looked about the same. He prayed that the experiment had been a dud. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't.   
"Looks like it didn't work!" Tenchi said hopefully, in a very high-pitched, very squeaky voice.   
Washu laughed, looking very smug with herself. "Oh no no, it worked."   
"My voice! What happened to my voice?!"   
"No need to worry! I just sent a dose of helium through your body, thats all."   
"Oh no! Helium?! When will it wear off?!"   
"Oh, in about twenty four hours!"   
Tenchi groaned. "Twenty four hours?!"   
"Uh-huh, but you can stay down here if you'd like!"   
"No! I want to get out of here!"   
"But you can't leave just yet!"   
"Why not?"   
"I've got one more experiment to work on!"   
Washu pulled a rubber glove over her left hand. It snuggled up against her wrist with a loud snap. She flexed her hand a couple of times, testing it.   
"Oh no." Tenchi groaned.   
Washu clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture and gave Tenchi her big, green puppy dog eyes. Tenchi looked away. He wouldn't give in.   
At that moment, Tenchi remembered the real reason her had come down to Washu's lab.   
"Little Washu?"   
"Hmmm?" Washu returned, hoping that Tenchi had "come to his senses", while she pulled on a rubber glove over her right hand.   
"Ryoko and Aeka destroyed the living room again. You need to go fix it."   
Washu thought for a moment. "In a little bit!" She moved towards Tenchi, who began to struggle in his bonds.   
"Washu! I need it fixed now! Its the middle of the winter and there is a humongous hole in the roof!"   
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? I'll be right back."   
"Washu!" Tenchi called after her retreating back. "Little Washu don't just leave me here!"   
Washu winked at Tenchi, held the peace sign up, and began to walk away once more. "But I have an experiment to finish Tenchi!" she called before exiting.   
When he was sure that Washu had left the lab, Tenchi began to pull at his bonds. They held tight.   
Tenchi sighed. He wasn't fond of being pinned to a table, high up in the air. He pulled and pulled at the steel grips until his wrists were red and sore, but they still didn't budge.   
"Come on you stupid things!"   
Tenchi noticed a little switch on the side of a little table, just within the distance of his socked foot. He flipped it with the edge of his toe.   
The metal bonds opened. Tenchi slid off of the tilted surface and dropped the couple of feet to the ground.   
"Washu was a little too careless...thank goodness!" he whispered to himself. "Better not tell her though, she would make sure it never happened again."   
Tenchi crept out of Washu's lab. He planned to get to his room and hide.   
He stepped softly into the hall and listened. Sure enough, he could barely make out the sounds of the keys on Washu's holo computer.   
Somehow, Tenchi made it to the stairs.   
"Hi Tenchi!" Mihoshi called loudly from the top of the stairs.   
"Shhhh!!" Tenchi cautioned, putting his index finger to his lips. He wasn't keen on saying much more. He didn't want anyone to know about his voice.   
"Sorry Tenchi!" Mihoshi said, even louder.   
Before Tenchi had time to react, Mihoshi tripped on the top stair and started falling towards him.   
"WAAAAAAAHH!"   
"AAAAAH!" Tenchi squeaked   
Mihoshi went flying into Tenchi and knocked him down. She sat on him, sobbing and crying. He struggled to get up, but he wouldn't budge.   
Washu appeared, flanked by the now healed Aeka and Ryoko.   
"What's all the fuss about?" Ryoko asked, caressing her cheek where the burn had been.   
"Tenchi?!" Washu asked, grabbing Tenchi's wrist and pulling him up. "How'd you get out of my lab?"   
Tenchi wasn't about to tell Washu. If he did, she would be extra cautious next time.   
"I um.........have to um..........go." Ryoko and Aeka stared at him when they heard his high-pitched voice.   
Tenchi pulled his arms from Washu's grip and ran upstairs. He shut his door quickly and collapsed on his bed.   
"Sometimes I wish I could do without those girls." he whispered to himself.   
Tenchi shielded his eyes as the room grew too bright to see. He sat up, his hand still perpendicular to his forehead.   
The light quickly grew dim and faded until it eventually ceased. Tenchi dared to look. He was amazed at what he saw.   
Before him stood a girl. You would have thought her to be a regular college student in her early twenties if it weren't for the golden wings that decorated her back or the light that seemed to shine on her.   
"Are you an angel?" (Author's note--Well duh!)   
The girl smiled and laughed slightly. As she nodded, her long silvery hair rippled. "Yes I am Tenchi. And I must admit, I didn't think you would have that kind of voice."   
"How do you know my name? And its not my real voice." Tenchi went into a detailed explanation of Washu's experiment.   
"Well, we can fix that." The angel continued as if she hadn't heard the question about his name. She closed her eyes and then re-opened them. Tenchi didn't feel any different.   
I am here because I have heard your wish Tenchi."   
"Wish?" Tenchi noticed that his voice was normal again.   
"You mean you have forgotten it so quickly? You wished that you could do without the girls."   
"Please tell me I'm dreaming." Tenchi pinched his wrist until it turned a light shade of red.   
"This isn't a dream Tenchi. I'm here to show you what your life would be like without the girls."   
Tenchi's eyes widened.   
"But before we leave, I have to tell you a few things. You'll be able to see and hear them, but they will not be able to see nor hear you. And, don't be surprised if everyone seems different. It is supposed to be like that. Are you ready?"   
Tenchi wasn't anywhere near ready, but the angel didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed Tenchi's hand and they both disappeared from sight.   


Chapter 1--Aeka No Need for Honor and Good Virtues   


"I'm going to show you you're life without each of the girls in turn."   
Tenchi and the angel had reappeared into complete nothingness. Tenchi turned his head to see nothing but white. In surprise, his hand started from that of the angel's.   
"Tenchi, don't let go of my hand!" the angel warned. "If you do happen to lose my grip, you fill start falling and never stop!"   
Tenchi gripped the angel's hand even tighter. Falling forever in an eternal pit nothingness did not sound like a good idea.   
"We'll start with Miss Aeka." the angel announced as they entered the normal three dimensions once more.   
Tenchi and the angel landed softly on the grass, where he could finally let go of her hand. Tenchi realized that they were standing outside if his own house. Only it was different somehow. Tenchi couldn't quite place it.   
"Let's go in." the angel said gently.   
Tenchi moved slowly towards his house, not able to guess what his life would be like without Princess Aeka. The only thing he could think of would be that there would be no violent fighting over him.   
They entered the house through the front wall.   
The appearance of the living room greatly surprised Tenchi. His familiar, plain furniture was replaced with elegant, velvety furniture. His t.v. had been replaced with a big screen...the biggest one Tenchi had ever seen.   
Tenchi recognized Ryoko's rarely formed laugh coming from in the kitchen. He looked back at the angel, who nodded. "Go on Tenchi." she made a pushing motion with her petite hand.   
Tenchi walked into the kitchen, not exactly sure of what he was going to see. To his amazement, when he entered the room, he saw Ryoko and himself along with all of the others (except Aeka of course), sitting at the table, dressed in all black. A map was lying centered in front of them.   
Ryoko picked a highlighter off of the table and began highlighting several different things on the map. "Washu and I will grab the loot. Does everyone know that they have to do?"   
"What do I do?" Mihoshi asked.   
"You stay here to make sure we come home okay."   
"Okey dokey!" Mihoshi replied brightly.   
"Washu?"   
"Yeah?"   
"Do you have all the stuff ready?"   
Washu pulled some small objects out of her belt, placing them on the table for Ryoko to see. "Yep!"   
"What about everything else?"   
"The stuff too big to carry?"   
"Yeah."   
Washu patted the air around her. "Thats all right here in this dimensional pocket."   
"All right, let's go!"   
As the group was getting up from the table, time froze.   
Tenchi turned to the angel, finding her leaning against the door frame. And this is what she said:   
"Without Aeka's high honor or good virtues, Ryoko convinced everyone to become "pirates", as she is." the angel shook her head, looking saddened. "Now Washu only uses her intelligence to invent things to help them all steal things. I'm horrified to say that even young Sasami has turned bad without Aeka."   
"Can we leave now?" Tenchi pleaded, wanting to see no more.   
"No, there is still much more to see. And this is only the beginning."   
The angel stepped back and time unfroze. Washu opened a portal, and everyone (including Tenchi and the angel) stepped inside and through it. They appeared at a bank.   
"Washu? Drill the window." Ryoko ordered.   
Washu took one of the small devices from her belt and, with an eagle eye, looked it over to insure that it was in proper order. It was like any modern drill, but when Washu used it, it made no sound. Nor did any alarms go off. Washu hastily put it back.   
"Okay Tenchi darling, give us a lift."   
The real Tenchi was amazed at how quickly he obeyed Ryoko.   
The other Tenchi interlocked his fingers. Washu steadied her foot in his hand and he boosted her up. She fit easily through the hole. Sasami did the same.   
Tenchi and the angel just floated through the wall.   
Washu took out a rectangular device and covered the security panel with it. After pressing a few buttons, a number came up in a lime greenish color. 1-7-4-3-5. Washu punched them into the security panel after removing the rectangular box. The front doors swung open.   
"Good work girls." Ryoko said, coming in and surveying the area. She began to walk towards the vault, but Washu held up her hand to stop her.   
"Ryoko, this is one of those high-tech, major securtiy banks. There are bound to be thousands of laser alarms."   
"Well....de-activate them then!"   
"Its not that simple. Those security panels are very secretly hidden. Finding one without the right equipment could take days!"   
"So, you mean to tell me that you forgot the equipment?!"   
"Um....yeah, but here! These might help!" Washu pulled two pairs of special sunglasses from her belt. She handed one to Ryoko. "These will help us see the lasers." she said, putting them on.   
"Cool." Ryoko could now see a roomful of red, green, and blue lasers. The colors messed with her eyes. It would be a tough job to manuver through them.   
"Ready Washu?"   
"Yeah, I'll go first. But remember, don't touch the floor with all fours! It will direct your weight and set off an alarm! And don't focus on the different color lasers, they're meant to screw with your head."   
Ryoko nodded.   
Washu adjusted her glasses and walked forward to the edge of the lasers. She did an expert limbo under two of them. She and Ryoko moved through the lasers and a bit of touch sensitive wire with expertise. "Vault time!"   
Washu pulled, yet another device from her belt. She put it on the vault door, pressed a button and watched with satisfaction as the door swung open. Ryoko stepped inside. "Wow! This bank is *loaded*!"   
Washu pulled several cloth sacks from her dimensional pocket. "Here are the sacks!"   
As Ryoko started loading up everything, Washu opened a portal that would send the jewels straight back to the Masaki shrine. She would open another portal once they got back outside. She picked up bags that Ryoko had filled and threw them in. "Now for the fun part!"   
Washu brought up her holo computer and began to type. A hologram of how the vault before they had raided it appeared. It would take the bank owner a longer time to figure out that anything had been stolen.   
"I am such a genius!" Washu said as they snuck back through the wires and lasers and out the front door to meet the others.   
"Sasami! Tenchi! Kiyone!"   
"Oh no...cops!" Ryoko exclaimed.   
Two cops came and handcuffed them, all the while telling them they're rights. They were shoved into one of the two waiting cop cars.   
"You must be the five who keep getting into the banks! I have to admit, you guys are good, but you'll be going to jail for a loooooooong time I expect!"   
"Thats us!" Ryoko exclaimed with a prideful tone in her voice. "But we can't be held there for long! Nothing can hold us?"   
"We'll see about that. Remember, pride comes before fall!"   
"Whatever."   
The cop shut the door and climbed into the driver's side. Tenchi and the angel watched as the two cars sped away.   
Tenchi shook his head sadly. "I didn't know life could be so bad.....or *different* without Aeka."   
"It is Tenchi."   
"Can we go now please? I don't want to see anymore!"   
"Let's move on."   
Tenchi took the angel's outstretched hand in his own and they had sudddenly once again entered nothingness.   
"Who will be missing next?" Tenchi asked, afraid.   
"Next Tenchi, you shall see a life without Kiyone."   
  
  


Chapter 2 --Kiyone - No Need for Misfortune and Frustration   
  
  


"Next Tenchi, you shall see a life without Kiyone."   
Life without Aeka had been bad enough......and it had only been the first he had seen. He was curious as to his life without Kiyone. Hopefully, it wouldn't be as bad.   
They once again descended from the sky and landed softly on the grass.   
"Angel? Will there be as drastic change in everyone without Kiyone as there was without Aeka?"   
"No Tenchi, but there will be an extreme change in Mihoshi."   
Tenchi knew he should have realized that. The only thing which kept Mihoshi going was Kiyone. There was that one time....   
"Tenchi..." the angel's soft voice pulled Tenchi from his thoughts. "Let's go in."   
Tenchi, who had forgotten that, at the moment, he could walk through walls, crept towards the front door. The knob was cold to his touch. He twisted it and pushed the door open.   
There was not a major change like the one that had surprised him before. The furniture was the same as it had always been.   
Tenchi heard a group of footsteps, droning lazily in the hall near the brook closet door that contained Washu's lab.   
"I have to show you guys this invention! Especially *you* Tenchi...."   
"Er.....Washu.......I don't think I can! I have things to do today....I....."   
"Oh come on! It will only take a minute!"   
Tenchi shuddered as he heard the familiar conversation between he and Washu. He walked into the hallway just as everyone was entering Washu's lab. He followed, with the angel a few steps behind him.   
Tenchi saw Washu, seated cross-legged on her floating pillow, in front of a large screen and a rather peculiar-looking keyboard.   
"My new creation," Washu was saying, holding her arms in a presentful, Vanna White gesture. "Will trackdown any one being we may need to find at one time or another."   
Washu turned on the little computer and pressed the largest button on the keyboard. The screen came on with a few beeps and whirring sounds. A small orange crab occupied the center.   
"Now...." Washu stopped speaking abruptly. She peered at the tiny crowd before her.   
"What is it Washu?" Sasami asked.   
"Mihoshi.....where is she?"   
"I dunno." Ryoko answered.   
"Was she with you when we all came down here?" Washu turned her gaze to Aeka, who shrugged.   
"Everyone, we *need* to find her!"   
"Why don't you just use your tracking machine?" Aeka suggested.   
CRASH! BOOM! BANG!   
"Or....just follow the sound."   
Washu ran towards the source of the sounds with everyone just behind her.   
"Oh no." Washu groaned.   
Two large machines were toppled over and their various colored wires were scattered all over the floor around them. Sparks were flying, making the air rich with electricity. A few of Washu's flyaway hairs were standing straight up as she inspected the area. Mihoshi was not there.   
CRASH! CRACK!   
"Not again!"   
By the time they arrived at the newly fallen machine, another crash made itself known. This cat and mouse chase continued until the only thing left in Washu's lab that was not destroyed was her newest invention: the tracking device. Her entire lab was a wreckage of metal pieces and long strands of frayed wire.   
Washu stood in the middle of the carnage, completely in awe. Squinting through the dust, she was just able to see Mihoshi exit her lab.   
"Washu..." Sasami reached out to put a comforting hand on Washu's shoulder.   
"Everyone...please....just leave." Washu said, pulling away from Sasami.   
Washu balanced herself on her knees to pick up the remnants of one unidentifyable machine. She turned them over in her hands and ran her finger over the edges.   
Everyone else left...Tenchi and the angel stayed.   
Tenchi had never seen Little Washu look so unhappy. She looked truly the definition of *Little* Washu, huddled on the floor looking much like a lost child. Tenchi knew that her lab was her pride and joy.   
He watched her get up slowly. Her holo computer and floating pillow appeared, more than likely two of the only things left in her lab. She sat down amidst the wreck and began to type.   
"It does not seem like Mihoshi changed at all." Tenchi stated, cupping his chin in his index finger and thumb.   
"Oh but she did Tenchi. Usually she somehow feels guilty about destroying one of Miss Washu's inventions that she cries and simply cannot do any more damage. But without Kiyone, she has no one to knock any real sense into her....do you get what I mean?"   
"Yes......what will happen to Washu?"   
"She will stay down here for many days repairing the damage, only stopping for a short sip of water. The under nourishment will cause her to become very sick."   
"Will she be okay?"   
"Of course she will. After a few days, she will be well enough to cure herself. Let's go back to where the others are."   
Tenchi's eyes still lingered on the remains of Washu's lab as he and the angel moved smoothly to the now closed broom closet door. They slid through it.   
"Mihoshi! You completely destroyed Washu's lab!" Aeka was yelling.   
Tenchi and the angel found everyone in the living room, crowded around Mihoshi, who was sitting on the couch, barely paying any attention. The television was on and Mihoshi was paying rapt attention to it a children's cartoon, shutting Aeka out.   
"Mihoshi? Didn't you hear me?"   
Mihoshi still ignored her, and with what seemed like a great effort, picked the remote up from the couch side table and changed the channel. Aeka tugged the remote from Mihoshi and turned off the t.v, causing Mihoshi to finally look up at her.   
"What did you do that for?"   
"To get you to listen to me! Now, why did you destroy Little Washu's lab?"   
Mihoshi shrugged lazily. "I dunno."   
Ryoko rolled her eyes. "There's no need to ask *her* any questions. I mean, why even bother? 'I don't know' is her usual lazy answer."   
Mihoshi stood up from the couch. She stood in a slouched manner with her palms pressed against the small of her back.   
Tenchi could see the drastic change in Mihoshi's appearance. Her usually well kept, blonce hair had a greasy tint to it, like it hadn't been washed or brushed for days on end. It hung limp and lifeless down by her shoulders. She was no longer skinny and uppity. Her waist and stomach had grown and her pink cheeks were chubby. Her mood had taken a definite malingering downfall.   
Mihoshi finally decided to give a "reason" for her actions. "Okay, so maybe I got bored."   
"Why don't you go and get a job?" Sasami suggested.   
"No."   
"Why not?"   
"Because a job requires work!"   
Sasami joined Ryoko in rolling her eyes.   
"But Mihoshi," The non-ghost Tenchi pointed out. "You neeed a job to succeed in life!"   
"So! You guys just don't get it. Why don't you just go away and leave me alone?"   
Aeka exasperatedly put her hands to her face. "You're hopeless Mihoshi...just hopeless."   
Mihoshi sat down again and flipped the television back on as everyone left the room.   
The scene dissolved right before Tenchi's eyes. He and the angel were back in the blank space...the empty whiteness.   
"Are you learning anything Tenchi?" the angel asked.   
"Yes...in a way."   
"What?"   
"That without a single person, the whole group changes."   
"You're right Tenchi. Everyone else changes in character even if they don't seem to interact with the person in reality. The effect can either be little or big, as you've seen so far."   
  


Chapter 3 -- Mihoshi - No Need for Luck and Chance   
  


"This is the one I am most reluctant to show you Tenchi, for it disproves my whole point." the angel said as they landed on the grass.   
"Why?"   
"A life without Mihoshi contains a positive effect on two people whom she troubles most. Can you think of who they would be?"   
"Kiyone and Washu?"   
The angel nodded. "Yes...Kiyone and Washu."   
Tenchi did not bother to open the door this time. He had remembered that he could float right through it. There was a strange feeling in his stomach as he moved through the solid surface.   
As it was without Kiyone, the furniture was not changed, and the living room looked remotely the same. The only difference was a tall plant nestled in the corner of the room, but Tenchi knew that it probably was not caused by Mihoshi's absence.   
There was laughter coming from the dining room. Everyone sounded like they were having a good time. Tenchi walked in with the angel at his heels.   
Everyone was seated at the table. Ryoko, looking slightly pink around the cheeks, blinked her slightly dilated eyes, and took a long, deep swig of her drink. Tenchi guessed that it was probably sake.   
Little Washu was at the end of the table, seated next to Sasami. She walked her chop stick through her fingers as she entertained them with a story about one of her past experiments gone wrong. It was very unlike her to bring up an experiment failure, but Tenchi could see the gleam in her bright green eyes every time she got a positive reaction.   
"Well anyway," she continued. "The scientist from London was examining a gloopy creature, which I had created in my lab." Washu put on a fake English accent. " 'Oy, Lil' Washu, these are simply fascinating creatures!' she said. 'I call them Geeblegooks' I told her. 'But don't look at them too long!' 'Why not Washu?' 'Well, Geeblegooks are very sensitive and if you gawk at them too long, they get angry and spray you with acid..."   
Leave it to Washu to think of something that sprays you with acid! Tenchi thought, staying close to the angel.   
"As much as I warned the scientist, she still stared at them, pressing her face against the open-top water tank. I couldn't blame her though, they are *very* interesting creatures to look at, but one of them became angry and sprayed her."   
"What happened to her?" Sasami asked with a hand covering her mouth.   
"Her hair was *completely* burned off."   
Aeka looked horrified. "Oh no!" she screeched, clutching at her own purple hair. "D...do you still h...have them?"   
"Of course..."   
Aeka's look of horror grew.   
"...but they are in a private part of my lab, so there's no need to worry."   
Washu checked her watch and gasped. "Sorry guys, but I have to go. I have some last minute data to enter into my holo computer. See ya!" With that, she dropped her chopstick on the table and scampered out of the room.   
The angel lightly touched Tenchi's elbow. Tenchi turned away from the rare scene of peace and harmony to face her.   
"Let's go follow Washu."   
"Okay."   
Tenchi walked the familiar path to Washu's lab. He only hoped that he wouldn't have to see any of the chaos he saw before. The look on Washu's face had been nearly unbearable and it would haunt him for the rest of his life.   
They moved through what was once the broom closet door. Tenchi noticed that the inside still looked like a regular broom closet. There was a broom and dustpan settled in the corner. On the wall to his left, there were some shelves adorned with several different kinds of cleaning materials.   
"Has she moved her lab?" Tenchi asked, confused.   
"No, this is just a different security system she has decided to use to keep the unwanted out."   
"Oh, but who is unwanted if Mihoshi is not here?"   
"I don't know Tenchi. This is one of the mysteries of messing around with life."   
"Oh..." Tenchi moved to float through one of the walls, but it suddenly became very solid. He crashed into it. "I suppose this is a new security measure too?" he asked, massaing his forehead.   
"Well, this *is* Washu's lab!" the angel replied with a hint of humor.   
"But, then how do we get in?"   
The angel observed the wall directly in front of them. "Aha! Here it is! Washu marked a certain spot on the wall and its almost impossible to see. When you find it, you have to place your palm flat against it and the wall will open."   
The angel pressed her palm against the wall.   
There was a bright flash of light. A crack appeared at the top of the wall and snaked its way towards the bottom. With a barely audible creak (I figured it would be louder than that. Tenchi though), the walls split.   
Tenchi and the angel found themselves in a room the same size as the broom closet. The white walls were bare. The only things in this room were two doors: one red and one blue.   
Tenchi went over to the red one and jiggled the door knob. It was locked. He tried his luck with the blue door. Thankfully, this one was open. The angel followed him inside.   
Tenchi was amazed at what he saw. Washu's lab was filled to the brim with inventions of all sorts. Odd looking machines were packing in tightly, pretty much wall to wall. There were only a few walkways going through them.   
"This is the fullest I have ever seen Washu's lab!" Tenchi exclaimed.   
"Yes. Since there is no one to break anything, her inventions, creations, and experiments remain unharmed."   
Tenchi followed one of the walkways. He walked for a long time until he stepped around a corner and saw a little clearing in the machines.   
The clearing must have been only three feet by three feet, but it was the biggest opening that Tenchi had seen so far. Washu was seated on her pillow in the center, typing on her computer. Her legs were crossed, right over left, and she was moving her right foot in a slow, circular motion. She was whistling a cheery tune as her fingers moved swiftly over the keys, her eyes staring intently into the screen. Every once in a while, she would stop typing, put her finger to her chin, think awhile, and then resume typing. This happened several times before the angel stepped up behind him.   
"She's so happy." Tenchi said.   
"Yes she is. Let's go see Kiyone."   
"Okay." said Tenchi, tearing his eyes away from the happy sight.   
Both Washu and the lab vanished. Tenchi found himself in Kiyone and Mihoshi's...er...Kiyone's room.   
There was only one bed in there now. Mihoshi's bed was replaced by a light blue couch. Kiyone's Galaxy Police Uniform was lying on a small coffee table in front of the couch, neatly pressed.   
Tenchi had been in the room only a couple times before, and each time it was quite dirty from Mihoshi's "cleaning" habits. But now, it was clean and sparkling.   
Kiyone came out of the bathroom, brushing her hair. She was wearing shorts and an old T-shirt, all ready to go to sleep.   
Suddenly, her galaxy police phone rang. She picked it up from her bedside table.   
"This is Kiyone."   
PAUSE   
"Oh yes, hello Mr. Tumacci!"   
PAUSE   
"Yes?"   
PAUSE   
"No, I'm not busy at the moment...just getting ready for bed."   
PAUSE   
"Don't you think its a little late?"   
PAUSE   
"Okay...I guess I can. See you in a little bit."   
PAUSE   
"You to....bye."   
Kiyone set her phone back down on the table and grabbed her Galaxy Police uniform. Tenchi, knowing what was coming, quickly turned around.   
When the rustling of clothes finally stopped, Tenchi asked the angel if it was okay to turn around.   
"Yes Tenchi, you can turn around now." Replied the angel, chuckling at Tenchi's embarrassment.   
Kiyone was pinning her hair up with a couple of bobbi pins so that it was hidden under her hat. She pulled on a pair of sleek, black boots and ran out the door with Tenchi and the angel in tow.   
The trio sprinted across the snowy ground until they came to Kiyone's ship. Tenchi let out his breath. It was visible in the cold night air, but Kiyone wasn't able to see it.   
"Where are we going?" Tenchi asked once they were inside.   
"Galaxy Police Headquarters." the angel replied   
In what seemed like no time at all, the ship had arrived at Galaxy Police Headquarters a.k.a....the middle of nowhere. There was a slight lurch as the ship docked.   
The door opened and the stepped out into a long walkway. It was made of completely crystal clear material on all sides, even the floor, so they could see space in all directions around them.   
Kiyone's slightly-heeled shoes clicked on the floor and echoed throughout the entire hall. Neither Tenchi's nor the angel's could be heard.   
They came to a door and followed Kiyone inside. They found themselves in another hallway. This one was opaque and so long, that you couldn't see the end of it. This hallway contained what seemed like a million doors. Kiyone chose the fifth one to her right.   
Inside, was a plush office. There were two leather chairs set in front of a big mahogony desk. There were elegant pictures hanging on the neatly wall-papered wall.   
A man who looked to be in about his mid forties was sitting in a high back rolly chair behind the desk. He had short   
salt-and-pepper hair as well as a salt-and-pepper mustache, which he twisted between his index finger and thumb.   
"Ah! Kiyone, do come in and have a seat."   
Kiyone nervously closed the door behind her and jumped slightly when it closed with a loud sound. She then stepped forward to take a seat in one of the leather chairs. Sinking back into the chair, she let her hands dangle over the sides. "You wanted to see me sir?"   
"Yes I did, yes indeed. I have some very interesting news for you."   
Oh no, what have I done this time?! Kiyone worried, her mind racing, trying to figure out if she had done anything wrong.   
"Yes Kiyone....you've been promoted!"   
Kiyone instantly jumped up from her chair, trying hard to conceal her excitement. She grasped Mr. Tumacci's hand in her own and shook it firmly. "Thank you sir! Thank you so much! You won't regret this!"   
"I'm sure I won't. You're a good officer Miss Kiyone, one of the best I've ever seen."   
Kiyone gave a toothy smile, much like a child learning that Christmas would be coming every day.   
"Congratulations!" Tenchi said, forgetting everything that was going on.   
"Tenchi, she can't hear you."   
"Oh yeah. I um......I knew that!"   
The angel smiled. "Let's go."   


Chapter 4 -- Ryoko - No Need for Love and Longing   


Once again, Tenchi was clutching the angel's hand, flying through an eternal blank white space.   
"Angel?"   
"Yes Tenchi?"   
"I was wondering....um....what is your name."   
The angel blushed. "Its a little long..."   
"That's okay. I would like to know your name." (Author's Note -> And everyone is probably getting sick of me calling her "the angel" all the time.)   
"My name is Evangelina. It means 'angel sent from Heaven'."   
"Your name isn't that long." Tenchi pointed out.   
"Do you want to know who will be gone next?" Evangelina asked, changing the subject.   
"Yes...I guess so."   
"It is Ryoko this time."   
Tenchi and Evangelina appeared outside the Masaki house. Everything was covered in two feet of snow. Tenchi danced around trying to keep his bare feet warm. It just had to snow didn't it?!   
"Cold Tenchi?" Evangelina asked.   
"Just a little." Tenchi replied, dripping with sarcasm. "Let's go inside."   
The inside of the house was cozy and warm; Tenchi was very thankful. It was wonderful to be in there, away from the freezing cold and the icy winds.   
Hands clutching his upper arms and teeth chattering, Tenchi walked into the living room. He, himself and Aeka (Author's Note-> Me Myself and Irene! Heh heh...) were the only two in they and they were discussing something. Aeka had her right hand on Tenchi's left knee.   
Where is everyone else? Tenchi asked himself, listening for other sounds of life within the house. A glance at the clock told him all he needed to know. One o'clock in the morning?! Everyone must be in bed!   
"Now that we're married...." Aeka was saying.   
MARRIED?! The REAL Tenchi's jaw dropped to the floor (not literally). He was married to Aeka?!   
Aeka squeezed Tenchi's knee gently. "We need to go to Jurai and........and take our posistions on the throne."   
Tenchi looked rather uncertain. "I'm not sure if I want to leave this place. This is where I've grown up.....this is my home."   
"Tenchi! You know you're destined to!"   
"But to leave all these good memories behind? And....and just before Christmas?"   
"The others will have a fine Christmas even if we aren't there. Plus, there will be a much better party in Jurai! And we'll form plenty of good new memories!"   
"I'll only go if the others go." Tenchi replied shortly.   
"They can't Tenchi."   
"And why not?!"   
Aeka continued as if she hadn't heard his question. "Can't you see this is important to me Tenchi?"   
"I can and do see Aeka! But the life I live now....here.....on Earth.....my home.....with me friends is important to *me*. This is where I belong."   
Aeka was silent. Tenchi stood and began to pace the room. Aeka also stood up and hugged him, laying her head on his shoulder. "Please Tenchi? Will you come? For me?"   
Tenchi gave a deep sigh and held Aeka at arms length. "All right Aeka."   
Aeka went to hug him again, but Tenchi gently pushed her away. She looked stunned.   
"I said I would go, but I did not say I would go happily."   
"But...."   
"Discussion over." Tenchi said firmly.   
Aeka gave Tenchi a very sullen look. It was easy to see that she had expected Tenchi to agree with her right from the start. Hands on her hips, she turned away and stormed out of the room.   
Tenchi followed her with his eyes until her footsteps faded away. He then walked up to his room. Tenchi followed.   
Tenchi sat on his bed. Resting his elbows on his knees, he folded his hands in front of them and rested them against the tip of his nose. He blinked a couple of times before sighing again.   
"Well, I'd better get my stuff packed and ready." Tenchi said to the air around him. He got up and pulled an ensamble of black suitcases out of his closet. He laid the biggest on his bed and unzipped it.   
He flipped on the light to his walk in closet and began to pull shirts off of the hangers. He folded them up neatly and set them inside his suitcase. When he was finished with the closet, he moved to the dresser so he could pack his pants and other items...(Author's Note - Hey Tenchi? Boxers or briefs? Sorry....couldn't resist the urge to crack a corny joke!)   
When his room was devoid of everything except for his furniture and suitcases, he got into his bed and pulled the covers to his chin. He fell asleep instantly.   
"You're not very wiling to go." Evangelina appeared, sitting on the end of Tenchi's bed and smoothing out the blanket.   
"I can tell."   
"Nothing much is going to happen while you're sleeping away the hours. So how about we speed up to the morning?"   
"Oh.....um....okay."   
Suddenly, the room was lit with bright morning sunlight. Time had been instantly fast-forwarded. Tenchi wondered how many other hidden powers the angel had.   
The other Tenchi opened his eyes and squinted at the too-bright sun. He sat up in his bed and pulled the blankets down to his knees, his mouth stretching with an inaudible yawn. He stepped out of his bed and walked over to the window.   
"Nice wonderful day isn't it?" Tenchi said sarcastically, yelling at the beautiful day outside. He snapped the window shut with a crack.   
There was a knock on the door.   
"Come in." he said grumpily.   
The door creaked as it opened. Aeka stepped inside, looking bright and chipper. "A wonderful day for travelling isn't it?"   
"Yeah whatever."   
"Tenchi, please don't be mad."   
"Me mad? Why would I have a reason to be mad?" Tenchi quiestioned, dripping in sarcasm once again.   
"You don't need to get sarcastic with me Tenchi!" Aeka replied in a snobbish tone.   
Tenchi didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he pulled on a light tan t-shirt and some khakis. He made his bed, picked up as many suitcases as he could, and stormed downstairs. Aeka ran after him.   
"Tenchi! I told you that when we were married, you would have to take the throne..."   
"But I didn't think I would have to leave all of this behind!" Tenchi put down his luggage in the middle of the living room and swept his arm, indicating everything that he was about to leave behind. Aeka sunk into a chair, completely speechless.   
Sasami came into the living room with a large wooden bowl cradled against her hip. She was stirring what looked like a vat of pancake batter.   
Looking up from her mixing, Sasami's eyes fell onto the pile of luggage and then fixed themselves upon Tenchi. "A...are you leaving Tenchi?" she asked, letting go of the spoon so that it fell with a clatter against the side of the bowl.   
Before Tenchi could answer, Washu walked in. She took one glance at the looks on Sasami and Tenchi's faces and instantly, the corners of her mouth began to droop.   
"What is wrong with you people?" she asked, arms crossed over her chest.   
"Tenchi and I are leaving." Aeka announced with an air of importance.   
"Leaving? You can't leave! Not now!" Washu looked at Tenchi. "Who's choice was this anyway?" she asked, already knowing the answer.   
Tenchi pointed to Aeka. "Her." he said in a nasty tone.   
Sasami only muttered one word. "Explain."   
"We're going back to Jurai soTenchi and I can take our places on the throne."   
"J...Jurai?"   
"Yes Sasami. And you are coming with us."   
"I am not! I have had no time to pack. The least you could have done was warn me." Sasami said quietly.   
"Go pack now." Aeka suggested.   
Sasami didn't move.   
Washu looked from Sasami back over to Tenchi. "You can't leave! Its Christmas Eve!" she interjected, looking hurt.   
Tenchi stood next to Evangelina, between the couch and the chair Aeka was sitting in. Washu was looking right through him. It was quite an eerie feeling.   
As the pleading conversation continued, it finally dawned on Tenchi that he was actually watching the group break up. Right before his very eyes, he was seeing what he had never even fathomed was possible. His left hand clenched the top of the couch so hard that his knuckles began to turn white. Of all things, he couldn't let this happen! As much as the girls annoyed him, he really did love them all nonetheless.   
"Its time to go...we have to leave now." Aeka muttered.   
The REAL Tenchi moved as though to stop her, but she just walked right through him, wheeling her suitcases behind her.   
Washu stepped in front of the OTHER Tenchi when he moved to follow Aeka. She held out a petite hand to stop him.   
"Tenchi, you mustn't go."   
"You know very well Washu that I do not want to go, but I have to. It became my obligation the moment I married Aeka. Now I must take the throne...its a binding contract."   
"At least let me do one last thing for you then!"   
Tenchi smiled. "If course!"   
Washu thought for a moment. "I'll transport all of your luggage to Ryu-oh. Just keep it here in the living room. I'll also make sure that you didn't forget anything."   
Tenchi nodded. "Thank you Little Washu."   
Still standing in the doorway, Sasami was in a flurry of semi-rage. She, like Tenchi, was not too keen on leaving. "I don't want to leave." she demanded like a stubborn child. "Aeka hasn't even given me time to pack!"   
"I'll do it for you." Washu said quietly. "The gr....the greatest scientific genius in the universe can do anything." she added half-heartedly.   
"Thanks Washu."   
"Your wel.....wait a minute!" Washu snapped her fingers a couple of times. "Don't leave yet! I'll be right back!" She raced off in the direction of her lab.   
Tenchi looked at Sasami, who shrugged. They walked out of the room side by side. Tenchi took one last look at the familiar setting that contained every secret of his past before saying goodbye forever.   
Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Aeka were all already standing outside Ryu-oh. Washu was not out there yet.   
Mihoshi ran from her spot over to Tenchi and clung to his arms. "Don't leave Tenchi! Please *please* don't leave!"   
"I'll be back as often as possible!" Tenchi assured her, not fully confident that this was the truth.   
Mihoshi nodded, sniffled, and ran her arms across her face, her tears drying on her pink cashmiere sweater. Then she stepped over so Kiyone could say her goodbyes.   
"You've been too good to me Tenchi!" Kiyone cried showing a rare burst of emotion. She threw her arms around Tenchi's neck and (much to Aeka's displeasure) kissed him on the cheek, and hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you Tenchi."   
"I'll miss you too Kiyone." Tenchi replied, returning the hug.   
Kiyone got to her knees and swept Sasami in her arms. "I'll miss you just as much Sasami!"   
"And I will...miss...you...too." Sasasmi choked out. She was losing air from Kiyone's tight grip. She took a deep breath, massaing her throat, when Kiyone let go.   
"Time to go." Aeka called from the door of her ship.   
"I'm going to say goodbye to Little Washu." Tenchi said firmly.   
Right on cue, Washu came bursting out the door. She ws clutching to small objects to her stomach as she ran.   
"Tenchi...Sasami..." Washu whispered so that only they could hear her. "These are for you." She handed them each a small remote that greatly resembled a garage door opener.   
"What is it?" Sasami asked, overcome by curiousity.   
"These are your own personal portals. All you have to do is press this button and a portal will appear. It will take you straight into my lab."   
Tenchi nodded. Washu pulled them both into a tight hug. "Chin up you two. We'll all be together again really soon. Bye now!"   
Washu walked over to where Mihoshi and Kiyone were standing. She crossed her arms behind her back, standing next to them.   
No one said goodbye to Aeka.   
Sasami and Tenchi followed Aeka into the depths of Ryu-oh. As soon as the door closed, the ship lifted off and flew into the air.   
Mihoshi, Kiyone, Washu, Evangelina, and Tenchi craned their necks to see the last glimpses of the large ship. Shaking her head sadly, Washu motioned for the others to follow her inside. Tenchi and Evangelina remained where they were.   
It was a long time before Tenchi said anything.   
"What happens to everyone?"   
"You and Sasami use those portals every time you get a chance, and you travel back to your house many many times right under Aeka's nose. But your chance to stay is lost..."   
"Why?"   
"Because one time, you and Sasami were a little too careless and left your remotes lying out in the open. Aeka finds the two remotes and knows immediatly what they are. She breaks them. Washu....well Washu gets worried as the days...weeks...months go on and you never visit. She begins to believe that Aeka brainwashed the two of you into hating her. And she falls into the deepest of depressions."   
"Washu? Fall into the deepest of depression? I never thought that possible!"   
"It is possible Tenchi. And without Ryoko...its even logical. Washu cares for you Tenchi, though she may have a funny way of showing it.........let's move on."   
  
  
  


Chapter 5 -- Sasami - No need for Hope and Loyalty   
  
  
  


Tenchi, who had grown accustomed to the white nothingness, went over what had just happened in his mind again and again.   
Tenchi had always thought of Aeka as a nice, honest, proper young lady. But the Aeka he had just seen was quite the opposite: forceful and controlling. He couldn't believe the way she had forced him to leave everything behind and travel to Jurai with her.   
The only thing that was keeping Ryoko and Aeka in check was eachother.   
Tenchi pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as he and Evangelina entered the three dimensional world again.   
He could hear faint traces of voices coming through the living room window. Evangelina motioned for him to go through.   
Once he was on the other side, he gasped. The house was a complete mess! The shelves and tables looked like they hadn't been dusted for.....well.....forever! All of the plants that had once added a cheery colour to the room were all dried up, sporting a dirty brown color. The cream carpet was stained beyond belief in spots of all colors.   
"Sasami is gone isn't she?" Tenchi asked, looking at the piles upon piles of what looked like a cheap spin-off of Chef Boyardee.   
The voices Tenchi had heard from outside were in full force, coming from the kitchen (the room next to them). There was a clink of glass hitting glass followed by the ear-shattering sound of glass slamming into something much more solid.   
Tenchi had only to take a few steps to enter the kitchen.   
He was standing right in the middle of the room when he finished walking. To his right, was Ryoko. She was holding a chair poised high above her head like she was ready to throw it. On his left, was Aeka, standing stiffly next to a gigantrous stack of china dishes.   
It was easy to tell that the girls had not just now started fighting. Both were bleeding and the floor was covered in the sharp edges of glass.   
The action started all at once. Ryoko pitched the chair. As if in slow motion, it arced towards Tenchi and passed right through his chest (he was closer to Aeka). Aeka ducked it, knocking over several plates with her feet in the process. Regaining her composure, she took the top plate from her stack, aimed it, and sent it hurling through the air like a frisbee. Ryoko picked up a giant pan and used it to shield herself from the plates.   
Aeka threw plate after plate after plate. When she finished off the plates, she went for the cups. When she had gone through every piece of fine china within her reach, she resorted to...silverware. She picked up a dirty fork from the sink and flung it in Ryoko's direction.   
Ryoko dropped to her knees, grabbing a tomato from the counter as she did so. She was greeted with two knee-fulls of sharp, painful glass. The fork meanwhile, stuck into the wall.   
"Had enough yet demon?"   
"I'm just getting started!" Ryoko stood up and launched the tomato at Aeka. (Author's Note - Aaaaatack of the killer tomaaaatoes!) Her aim was true. The tomato hit Aeka in the forehead and burst open like a sack of garbage. "Your days are numbered princess!"   
Aeka's face turned red enough so that it matched the tomato. She began to throw dirty dishes from the sink and her side of the counter. Water and food was being flung everywhere. The floor could no longer be seen due to the glass shards covering it.   
Tenchi was glued to the spot, watching and listening to the hilarity of the fight. All kinds of different items flew through his non-solid body.   
"What is going on here?" exclaimed a new voice.   
Everything stopped at once. Washu walked into the room with the air of a mother catching her two daughters doing something they shouldn't.   
"Look at this mess you two made!" Washu accused, obviously not thinking about the rest of the house's mess.   
"Well, if you don't like it, then *fix it*!"   
"Ryoko! That is no tone to take with your mother!"   
Ryoko rolled her eyes.   
Washu rolled her own in an exaggerated imitation of her daughter. With a small sweep of her arm, here holo computer computer and floating pillow appeared. Washu sat down and began to type.   
Almost immediatly, every piece of glass rose into the air like a million piece jigsaw puzzle. The pieces began to glue themselves together in midair, forming whole cups and plates again, all sparkly clean. The cups and plates floated daintily into their cupboards. The kitchen cleaned itself up until it was completely spotless.   
Washu scooted off of her floating pillow and the two items disappeared.   
"Okay, I'm seperating you two!" Washu said in a soft voice, as if talking to small children. "Aeka, you go that way..." Washu pointed towards the living room door. "...and Ryoko, you go that way." Washu pointed towards the upstairs.   
Both Aeka and Ryoko stormed out of the room in seperate directions. Washu shook her head and walked back off, towards her lab.   
"Without Sasami, I *expect* to see the house a mess and cheap, spinoff foods everywhere!" Tenchi chuckled.   
"But you are missing a very important factor in Sasami's absence." Evangelina informed him.   
"What is that?"   
"Miss Aeka's and Miss Ryoko's fights are more mortal, true, but they are overall, more brutal. There is no Sasami there to break them up when you guys can't."   
Evangelina was right. Their fights were certainly becoming more mortal. Instead of Aeka summoning Azaka and Kamidake, and Ryoko using her energy sword, they had resorted to the use of fine chine and silverware. *And*....   
"Also Tenchi..." Evangelina began.   
Tenchi snapped away from his, shaking his head to clear his mind.   
"Al.....also what?"   
"Without Sasami, there is no assimilation with Tsunami, and Tsunami is an important factor to your living in the future..."   
Tenchi's brown eyes widened. "You mean...without Tsunami's help sometime in the future, I will...I will die?!"   
"Yes Tenchi."   
"But how?"   
Evangelina closed her eyes and Tenchi found himself in a cold, lonely forest. He heard evil laughter...laughter he knew that he had heard before...he couldn't quite place it.   
Ducking branches and jumping over roots, Tenchi followed the sound of laughter. His foot caught a hole of and he tripped, falling face forward into the leaves. Spitting out leaves, he stood up quickly, brushed the leaves from his clothes, and began running again.   
More sooner than later, he found himself in a large clearing. In the center of this clearing, he saw himself, flat on his back. Ryoko and Aeka knelt on either side of him.   
"Is he breathing?" Ryoko asked, tears welling up in her eyes.   
Aeka put her ear to Tenchi's heart and listened. Nothing. She let her head fall onto Tenchi's chest and began to sob.   
"He...he....must be alive!" Ryoko grabbed Tenchi's wrist and felt frantically for a pulse. She found none and like Aeka, began to sob with pure grief.   
"Their love for you is true Tenchi."   
Tenchi suddenly realized that Evangelina was still standing beside him. He gave an uncharacteristic whimper.   
"Don't worry Tenchi! You and only you can prevent this from happening." Evangelina put a comforting hand on Tenchi's shoulder. "C'mon, there's only one more to go."   
But Tenchi oculdn't tear his eyes away from the beautiful, but sad sight. Both Ryoko and Aeka loved him dearly, though they had a funny way of showing it.   
Then, the scene began to dissolve right before his very eyes. The last thing he saw was Ryoko leaning in to kiss him...   
"Tenchi, you don't need to see anymore of that than you have to." Evangelina said, preparing to head into the white nothingness.   
  
  
  


Chapter 6 -- Washu - No Need for Divinity and Intelligence   
  
  
  


Tenchi couldn't believe that he had actually wished that the girls were gone. What a mess his life was without them!   
He and Evangelina landed on the soft grass together for the last time, but this time, they were turned away from the house.   
"Why are we facing the other way?" Tenchi asked.   
"Turn around and you'll see why."   
Tenchi turned around and the sight in which he saw made him jump backwards a couple of feet.   
It was his house, yes, but it was in ruins! Half of it was completely shattered, scattered all over the grass before him. The other half was still standing, but it didn't look like it would be standing for much longer. There were chunks taken out of the scorched walls and all of the windows were gone. Tenchi could plainly see the living room, with its overturned furniture covered in a light blanket of snow.   
"Wh......what happened?"   
"It is easier for you to see it yourself than it would be for me to explain it to you. Would you like to see it for yourself?"   
Tenchi nodded reluctantly.   
The scene before Tenchi changed in a split second. The pieces of the house repaired themselves like a movie on rewind. His house took on the look of any normal house.   
Even the weather had changed. They must have gone back quite a few months. The snow was gone and the air had turned to crisp, steaming summer air.   
Tenchi could hear Aeka and Ryoko's voices clearly from where he was standing.   
"...you ugly, banished demon!"   
"Thats IT! You've pushed me to the limit this time prissy princess!"   
Tenchi felt a tingle of electricity in the air. That meant that Ryoko was powering up an extra large energy blast.   
"Take this princess!"   
Tenchi heard Aeka scream just before there was a humongous BOOOM! The house was being split at the hinges. Flaming pieces were flying everywhere, some even flew right through Tenchi.   
He shielded his eyes with one arm, not wanting to see anymore.   
"You can look now Tenchi." Evangelina said after a few minutes.   
Tenchi dared to take a peek. The house was smoldering in a bright orange fire. The crisp, humid air had helped it burn. Tenchi panicked. "Is...is anyone still in there?"   
"Yes."   
"We've got to go save them then!" Tenchi prepared to run into the burning house.   
"Tenchi!" Evangelina grabbed his arm to keep him from going anywhere. "There is nothing you can do! In this world, you are nothing but a shadow! There is no way you can save her!"   
"Wh....who?"   
"Aeka."   
"Aeka? Does....does she die?"   
"Yes Tenchi, I'm sorry."   
"But.....but how?"   
"Ryoko's blast stunned her. She was knocked unconcious for a few moments. When she woke up, she was completely surrounded by fire, trapped by the flames. She couldn't get out.....she died from smoke inhalation."   
"And everyone else?"   
"They live."   
"But *where* do we live?"   
"You guys are given a potential home until you build another one close to the shrine. And Ryoko lives eternally in guilt."   
"Ryoko? Guilt?"   
"Yes. As much as it may not show, Ryoko and Aeka care for eachother. Only....Ryoko didn't realize it until Aeka was gone."   
"Can we go back to the present time now?" Tenchi asked feebly.   
"Yes Tenchi...we can."   
A light blanket of snow appeared instantly and Tenchi could again see his breath in front of him.   
"Do you want to explore the house?"   
"Is....is Aeka.....still.....in there?"   
"No Tenchi. She was flown back to Jurai on Ryo-oh-ki, and given a full, proper funeral service."   
Tenchi nodded. "Let's go in."   
He didn't have to step through the wall to enter the living room because there weren't any walls left to step through in the first place.   
Tenchi walked slowly into the kitchen. All of the glass had melted together into big blobs. A stereo, sitting on the kitchen counter, had melted until it was nearly unidentifyable. The table had been reduced to a pile of ashes.   
Tenchi moved to the hallway where the broom closet door was. He was surprised that this hallway was not as badly damaged as the rest of the house was. The walls only suffered a few scorches....nothing else.   
Tenchi opened the door to reveal a completely normal broom closet, the same way it had been before Washu had come to live with them in real life.   
"Thats why the house is destroyed! Little Washu isn't here to fix it!" (Author's Note - I wooooooooonder!)   
Tenchi walked through room after room, surveying the damage done. He was extra cautious with the upstairs, considering that the other half of the house was about to collapse.   
"I don't want to see anymore." Tenchi said quietly.   
"Does that mean you don't want to wish the girls away?"   
"Yes. I want to keep the girls. I realize now that chaos my entire life would be without them. I saw what it was like without one of them in turn, I don't even want to know what it would be like without any of them!"   
"Then my point has been proven. We can go now Tenchi."   
Tenchi hugged Evangelina. "Thanks for showing me what I failed to see by myself."   
Evangelina returned the hug. "Your welcome. Let's get you home now. Tomorrow is Christmas you know!"   
Tenchi nodded. "Goodbye Evangelina."   
"Bye Tenchi. Have a Merry Christmas!"   
Tenchi felt himself being lifted into the air. The house around him and Evangelina were getting dimmer and dimmer.   
"Goodbye Tenchi." Evangelina said in a whisper that echoed through his head. "Goodbye."   
  
  


(And now for the cheesy epilogue!)   
  
  
  


Epilogue --- Reborn   
  
  


Tenchi sat straight up in his bed. The sun was shining through his window. He got up, stretched, and walked over to it. Looking down, he saw that the snow was deep, higher than the porch even! They would be snowed in, but who cared? They would find some way to go out and have a brutal snowball fight.   
Suddenly, he remembered the events of the previous night. His wish....Evangelina....the horrors he saw.   
"Was it a dream?" he asked him self.   
"Don't you dare ask *that* again." A voice said.   
Tenchi spun around, searching for the source of the angelic voice. He found nothing. That convinced him.   
"It must have been true!" Tenchi exclaimed. "It is real!"   
A feeling that he had never felt before washed over him. He felt happy, joyful, excited, and.........and reborn! All those emotions wrapped into one big burst of an inward urge.....no *need* to celebrate.   
Still in his pajamas, Tenchi walked over to his door and opened it. He was immediatly greeted with the sound of joyous voices and the sweet smell of hot cocoa. He hurried down the stairs.   
Everyone was gathered in the living room, still in their pajamas, around the Christmas tree. Tenchi rushed over to them.   
He pulled Ryoko and Aeka into a hug and kissed them both. "I loved you two and don't you ever forget it!"   
Ryoko pushed Aeka away, wrapped her arms around Tenchi and kissed him right back. Aeka, taking Ryoko's idea, did the same.   
When they had both finished with Tenchi, they looked at eachother, swooning, and sat down on the couch side by side.   
Then, Tenchi pulled Washu's small, twelve year-old figure into a tight hug and began to spin her around.   
"Does this mean you want to be my guniea pig?" Washu asked slyly, starting to get dizzy.   
"Anything you want, just never ever leave again!"   
"But Tenchi! I haven't ever left!"   
Tenchi set her down and kissed her on the cheek. She wobbled on the spot a bit before collapsing with dizzy confusion right onto Ryoko and Aeka.   
Mihoshi tripped, but Tenchi caught her right before she fell into the Christmas Tree. "Merry Christmas Mihoshi!"   
"Christmas? I love Christmas!" Mihoshi said dimly, walking away before Tenchi could hug and kiss her.   
Tenchi laughed as he pulled Kiyone into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She glowed red with embarrassment.   
Sasami came running over to Tenchi and hugged him around the waist. "Merry Christmas Tenchi!"   
With more strength than he actually had, Tenchi put his hands around Sasami's waist and lifted her above his head an placed her into a sitting position on his shoulders. "Who's ready for some presents?"   


The end! Well, let me know how you liked it! I know the end was kind of cheesy, but that is how most of these kind of stories are! And that is what makes them all so great! Well, I hope you all have/had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!   
Review please!   
  
  



End file.
